Latest news with #FolkOnTheRocks
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who performs as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who perfomes as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees. "We aren't out of the woods yet," said Horosko. She said the festival is planning some fundraising activities in the future.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Emergency plan 'worked great,' despite performer's encounter with lightning: Folk on the Rocks
Folk on the Rocks says its emergency response plan "worked great" after a thunderstorm forced the Yellowknife music festival to shut down early last Friday – and it has followed up with a local performer who had a scary experience with lightning. "Lightning hit the tent and I got shocked pretty good," Benji Staker, who perfomes as Hughes, told CBC News on Saturday. The annual three-day outdoor festival kicked off Friday with its Warm the Rocks event in the beer gardens at the Folk on the Rocks site. However, after the thunderstorm started, organizers made the decision to evacuate the site at around 8:30 p.m. Straker said he and his wife and two others had sought refuge from the storm under a tent with sound equipment when it happened. He'd been leaning against a metal equipment box at the time, and said it felt like someone punched him in the head and kicked him in the butt. "I felt fine right away," he said. "I think everybody else was kind of more concerned." Straker said many people pulled him aside at the festival to ask him what happened and if he was OK. "I'm having fun with it," he said. "They're wondering why I'm not stuttering and why I don't have, like, a white stripe on my head or, like, spider veins." "It's obviously nobody's fault. Maybe ours, for getting under a metal frame tent. But whatever, it is what it is." Teresa Horosko, the festival's executive director, said in an interview Thursday that the festival has spoken with Straker about what happened. "The static charge in the air when lightning is present is intense and it is possible to feel some shocks or some effects from that static charge," she said. "We've discussed that with him and also have opened up that conversation for anybody else who has been on site who may have felt some static charge." Asked whether the festival's emergency response plan worked, given what happened, Horosko said it's something she's been asking herself too. "Did we do enough, and quickly enough? And I think, ultimately, yes." Horosko said the festival had been monitoring the storm for a while and an evacuation didn't seem necessary at first. But then the wind changed, a low pressure system moved in, and things started to move quickly. "I think back on that moment a lot. If I had done things a little bit different … would we not have had those instances? And I can't guarantee that those wouldn't have happened. Like static charge in the air is a big thing when there is an electrical storm. And I think ultimately we made the right choice when we made that choice." Horosko said staff and volunteers did an "incredible job" clearing the site, and she's thankful to the audience for paying attention and being co-operative. Though she's satisfied with how the emergency response plan worked, she does hope to make some updates to it. "It was our first time doing an evacuation because of a thunderstorm. So going to edit that a little bit and also have a more detailed re-opening plan." The festival has described shutting down early on Friday as a "devastating financial loss." Horosko said the 19+ event brings in about a third of the festival's sales – through drinks at the beer garden and merchandise. Though attendance on Saturday was "big," the cool Sunday forecast meant fewer attendees. "We aren't out of the woods yet," said Horosko. She said the festival is planning some fundraising activities in the future.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
N.W.T. aims to open new transitional housing facility near Yellowknife this fall, but offers few details
The N.W.T. government is hoping to open a new transitional housing facility by the Yellowknife airport on Highway 3 sometime this fall. There are still few details about the plans for the facility announced last week, other than that it will have space for 25 people and that the territory has signed a three-year lease for the site which sits next to the Folk on the Rocks parking lot. Rob Tordiff, the territory's assistant deputy minister of governance and service integration and one of the leads on the project said some details — including what exactly the space provides and how it operates — will depend on the successful proponent of the request for proposal (RFP). "Transitional housing by its nature can provide a spectrum of different types of supports," Tordiff said. "It's really intended to provide a stable environment for folks that are close to or ready to live independently with just a few or maybe one or two minor assistance services." Tordiff said the site's exact location also has yet to be determined. "It's a large lot. Our efforts are to try to minimize the impact in the neighbourhood. We don't want to be interfering with any of the activities that take place there, through Folk on the Rocks or any of the other functions that occur on the adjacent property," he said. Tordiff acknowledged that the site's distance from Yellowknife's downtown, about six kilometres away, may not work for all potential clients, but he said some prefer to be away from the city. Most importantly, he said, the site is what's available and that makes it the best option. Last November, the territorial government created a 10-week on-the-land camp on the Ingraham Trail. Tordiff said about 39 people accessed those services, and the department believes 25 will be interested in the new transitional site. Tordiff wouldn't say how much it would cost to set up and run the new facility but said the department does have some funding set aside and that the federal government is also contributing. He said an RFP for the facility's setup would be going out shortly and another to operate the site would be issued in July.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
N.W.T. gov't setting up transitional housing near Yellowknife
Yellowknife in September 2022. The territory says it's setting up temporary transitional housing just outside the city. (Travis Burke/CBC - image credit) There's no opening date yet, but the N.W.T. government says it's developing a new option for people who are homeless in the territory. In a news release Tuesday, the government says it will be setting up a temporary transitional housing facility across from the Yellowknife Airport that will have space for 25 people. It says it has signed a three-year lease for the site, which is right next to the Folk on the Rocks parking lot. It plans to issue a request for proposals in May for the facility's setup, and another in July for a program operator. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The facility would help people transition from being homeless to having longer-term housing. It would come with case management and life skills programs, and would be staffed all day and night "to help residents stabilize, set goals and prepare for independent living," the territory's news release states. The news release describes the planned facility as a temporary solution. The idea, the government says, is that by the time their lease is up, they will also have a more permanent transitional housing option in place. The territorial government also said it will be working with groups like those who put together the Folk on the Rocks festival and Yellowknife Pride to make sure their nearby events can continue.
